The Dons hit the road to San Ramon Friday evening to battle the Cal High Grizzlies in what would turn out to be the lowest scoring outing of the season. Both defenses were in lock down mode in the first quarter, resulting in no blood until just 9 seconds left in the first quarter when the Dons’ Griffin Rotundo scored his first (of what would be four on the evening)!
Cal High then tied it up two minutes into the 2nd quarter. And a rough turnover by the Dons led to another quick goal for the Grizzlies to put Cal High up 2-1. But amazing defensive matchup kept the Grizzlies down to end half with the Dons down 2-1.
After halftime, the Dons’ Griffin Rotundo came out firing, with a beautiful move through the middle to score just 50 seconds into the half. A great assist from Simon Appel to Rotundo a minute later led to another score, making it three on the night for Rotundo.
Faceoff dominance continued for Dons’ senior Ian Sanftner giving the Dons more than their share of offensive possessions. And the Dons took advantage of it. Griffin Rotundo had a quick pass to Jan Korzeniowski who unselfishly passed it right back to Griffin for a score. Giving Griffin Rotundo his fourth on the night. The Dons were now up two with 20 seconds left on the third. Simon Appel added to the Dons lead with a powerful goal and Appel stayed hot just a minute later to add another goal putting the Dons up 6-2.
The Dons D continued to lead the way with strong play by Corbin Gallegos, TJ Cronin, and Henry Finegold. Cal High had a little fight still left in them, scoring one to go down 6-3. But a strong offensive move and score by Dons’ Brody Darin on the next possession put the Dons up 7-3 with just a few minutes left in the game to seal the deal for the Dons with 7-3 win over the Grizzlies. A great win for the Dons on the road again Cal High.
This fantastic defensive showing warrants a special shoutout for Dons’ freshman goalie Kyle Sanftner, his first start on the year which led the way to victory for the Dons. Aca boys looked crisp tonight and played with more disciple. Looking forward to seeing where it leads us in the coming weeks. Go Dons.
